MAXAM TIRE advises forklift tire safety tips for National Forklift Safety Day
With increased demands, it’s important to ensure maximum efficiency. Forklift tires play a major role in ensuring operator’s safety & maximizing productivity. It’s important to know how to tell when it’s time to change your tires. Below are some tire safety & maintenance tips to identify when to change your tires.
Here are the four signs to determine when to replace your tire:
1. Tire wear and balding
Both pneumatic and solid tires will become less effective as their tread wears down. For pneumatic tires, if the tread is nearly gone or you notice bald spots, it’s time to replace the tires. For solid cushion tires, once the tire reaches 1/3 of the nominal section height, it’s time for new tires. For resilient tires, if the tire reaches the 60J line, it’s time to replace the tires.
2. Tire chunking
If pieces or chunks of your forklift tires are falling off, that’s a good sign you need to replace them.
3. Tearing on tires
Similar to chunking, if your tires are tearing off in spots, they need to be replaced.
4. Flat spots
Similar to chunking, if your tires are tearing off in spots, they need to be replaced.
Other than checking for signs of potential tire replacement, other key inspection points include:
1. Uneven tire wear
Check if there are any uneven signs of wear on each tire. There could be an underlying issue that is causing premature wear due to the road condition or the application.
2. Air pressure
Tires that aren’t filled to the proper pressure will wear out more quickly than tires filled to the correct PSI. Overinflation can also result in excessive tire wear.
3. Load
While you don’t want to overload the lift truck, running the forklift without a load also shortens your tire life. Without a load on the forks, the counterweight presses down on the steer tires which causes them to wear more quickly.
Forklift tires play a key role not only in the efficiency of an operation but also the safety. After a tire has worn 40%, the forklift and the driver will absorb over 84% of the shock if it’s being run over a rough surface. The transmission has to work much harder to turn the tires the same amount of rotation, which can result in a breakdown. Therefore, maintaining tires is an inexpensive way to keep your forklift and operator in good condition.
For additional information, contact your local representative or visit us at maxamtire.com.
